Tata Harrier Crashes Into Punch EV: Family Fight!
Cars and SUVs from Tata Motors are known for their sturdy build, crashworthiness, and safety features. Many of these vehicles boast five-star Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP safety ratings as well. It isn’t rare to find Tata cars and SUVs getting involved in accidents either. A case from Andhra Pradesh shows a Harrier and a Punch EV being involved in a crash. Not much detail of this incident is available at the moment.
The clip shared on YouTube shows the aftermath of the crash. It happened on the Simhachalam road in Visakhapatnam. From how the two SUVs are seen in the video, it is likely that the Harrier was driving on the wrong lane on the well-built highway when it met with the accident.
While going from Simhachalam Hanumanthavaka to Simhachalam, vehicles often turn and drive on the wrong side or lane. This seems to have caused the crash here. In recent months, the number of such cases has increased.
Both vehicles seem to have taken notable damage on the front right side. The front fender, bumper, and bonnet seem to have been deformed. All pillars remain intact though. Occupants are thus likely to have survived without serious injuries. Eyewitnesses say that only the Punch driver got minor injuries. The accident was caused by rash and negligent driving.
The Punch EV is often considered the safest car sold by Tata Motors. It secured impressive scores in the crash tests conducted by Bharat NCAP- India’s own vehicle evaluation body. It scored 31.46 points out of 32 in adult occupant protection (AOP) and 45 out of 49 in Child Occupant Protection (COP). Overall, the electric SUV scored a five-star BNCAP safety rating.
The Punch.EV comes with features like six airbags, ABS, ESC, and three-point seat belts for all passengers. It was the first product to be based on the Acti.ev platform, and is available in five variants- Smart, Smart+, Adventure, Empowered, and Empowered+- and with two battery pack options- 25kWh (on the standard variant) and 35 kWh (on the Long range variant).
The standard Punch.EV has a claimed range of 315 km per charge, while the long-range variant is claimed to deliver 421 km per charge. The ex-showroom price falls in the range of Rs 9.99 lakh - 14.29 lakh.
However, the Tata Harrier seen in the video is the previous generation - and this was not tested by Global NCAP and therefore does not have any safety ratings we are aware of. The newer, facelifted Harrier and Safari were however tested and received 5-star ratings in both BNCAP and Global NCAP.
It scored 33.05 points out of 34 in adult occupant protection tests (AOP) and 45 out of 49 points in child occupant safety. The Harrier and its seven-seater form, Safari, were crash-tested by Bharat NCAP as well. The duo scored a five-star safety rating.
In addition to six standard airbags (the top-spec gets seven), ABS, ESC, a 360-degree camera, and more, it gets ADAS features as well. It comes equipped with features like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), speed assistance, and Blind Spot Detection (BSD).
The vehicle involved in this case, however, is the pre-facelift model, which did not have ADAS features. The Harrier, now, is priced in the range of Rs 14.99- 27 lakh, ex-showroom.
Instances of people causing crashes by driving carelessly and breaking road and lane rules are increasing in many parts of the country. Authorities should ensure stricter enforcement of these. This crash could have been more tragic. The crashworthiness and safety of these models helped in keeping its impact minimal.